Cleansing surfactant compositions are designed to remove accumulated soil and oils from the skin and hair. Unfortunately, these compositions often exhibit a number of drawbacks. The first of these is that upon total removal of skin and hair oils, the skin and hair are made to feel excessively and uncomfortably dry. The second drawback with many cleansing compositions is that the surfactants or other components of the composition contain ingredients that are irritating to the eyes, which is especially troublesome when the products are used on infants, children and adults with sensitive eyes and skin.
One method used by the cosmetics and toiletries industry to overcome the problem of dryness is to add moisturizers to the cleansing product. Unfortunately, this method often provides a product which leaves the body with an excessively oily and slippery residue when the composition is washed from the body. Furthermore, even starting with a surfactant base that has a low degree of eye irritation, the presence of added components such as moisturizers can upset the ocular mildness of the overall formulation. The presence of moisturizers in surfactant compositions also has a tendency to reduce the dispersibility and foamability of the composition, which negatively impacts the consumer acceptance of the product. Accordingly, it is an object of this invention to provide a cleansing composition that is exceedingly mild to the skin and to the eyes. It is another object of this invention to provide a cleansing composition that does not leave the skin with an excessively dry feeling. It is another object of this invention to provide a cleansing composition that leaves the skin and hair feeling moist but without feeling excessively oily and slippery. It is another object of this invention to provide a moisturizing cleansing composition which does not leave a slippery and oily residue on bath surfaces. It is another object of the invention to provide a moisturizing cleansing composition that is not adversely affected as to the attributes of dispersibility and foamability.
Finally, it is an object of this invention to provide a cleansing composition with the combination of attributes of mildness to the skin and eyes and effective cleansing, while leaving the skin with a feel that is neither excessively dry nor oily.